Underland Chronicles : The Warrior and The Brain
by xenofan1
Summary: Slightly AU, 8 years after the Prophecy of Time, Gregor stayed and married Queen Luxa, and became the first Overlander King of the Underland. When Nick, an unathletic, geeky, overlander discover this new world. A new menace emerge and threatens to corrupt all life, will the logic of the Brain and the courage of the Warrior be able to save Regalia and his inhabitants?
1. Nick the Overlander

First day of the summer break,

I am just chilling in my room, what do i do now? I mean, school is over, all the other kids will go to some luxurious hotel to have some good time, but me, i was here, waiting for something to happen. I won't expect to do anything for a while, my sisters are all going on summer camps, and my parents didn't managed to get breaks for the start of the summer, so yeah...

All i have to do is read fantasy books, and play video games. So summer break is pretty much an extended weekend for me. But i won't complain, at least, i won't have to hear annoying voice for at least two months, so it's at least that. If only i could talk to someone, I think that's what bothers me the most in all that. I don't have my friends (which goes to a total of a whole two!) since they are both going somewhere. Tom goes to London, for two weeks, and Marthy is gone to California for the whole summer.

\- Nick ! Come downstair and answer the door !

Before i continue forward, let's introduce myself, my name is Nick Landon, i am fourteen years old, in good ol'New York City. Yeah, i know, really short introduction, but i never liked talking about myself anyway. You just have to know that, and, oh, that i am really geeky and never been really that great in sport ? But i am sure am great at trivia games, it counts for something, right ?

When i said there was no one i could talk to earlier, well i kinda lied... there is one girl, and it is the girl that is screaming that i go down to let her enter.

\- Right, right, I'm coming ! * I said, as i was walking down the stairs*

I live in a appartment in New-York, it's not a five stars hotel to say the least, there is cockroaches, rats, ants. Damn, i'm surprised there is not SNAKES in the cave, the only times i go in the cave, is when i help my parents do the laundry, otherwise, i prefer to stay away from there, just a bad feeling i guess. The stories i heard from the neighbour about the family that disappeared ten years ago. First the father, then the boy, then the mother and the sisters. I didn't really believed those stories, because, come on, who can disappear in their OWN appartment ? It would be like be lost in my own pockets, you have to be pretty stupid or have a really bad sense of orientation.

But let's get back to the story, i open the door, after the 1000th knock, and as i open it, a ten year old girl punches me in the face. Yeah, what a way to start off a day. I step back after the punch, holding my jaw that received the most of the impact.

\- What took you so long ? You know, it's really impolite to make girls waiting.

I was looking at her, for a ten year old, she was a lot more _tsundere_ than i could think. She was looking me, with authority and anger ?

\- I told you i was coming, and you know me, i'm not the fastest man alive. Or even the smartest.

She tossed her blonde hair a bit and looked at me and just said.

\- Soooo, what do you wanna do ?

I think, what could a fourteen year-old boy do with a ten year-old girl ? All that was illegal was obviously out of the question. The idea, she got it first before i could of anything that would not put me on future watchlist.

\- Do you want to see a movie ?

\- Yeah why not, but what kind of movie, this is not like we could see a R-rated movie.

Aaannnddd that's how i ended up watching an animated kids movie, it wasn't half bad, but i would rather be watching something else. When it ended, i didn't know if I got smarter or dumber. But at least, it wasted some of the time where I would had juste being laying around on my bed. So in the end, I think it has been worthwhile.

Lucy( yes, that's her name) thanks me for having spent that time with her (for once that she thanks me for something), then we went our separate ways. In some manner, I'm happy that i saw her today, she can be annoying sometime, but she's my friend, so i look foward to see her more this summer. Maybe this summer will not be all that boring.

Well, I think I just jinxed it... Because the first thing i see when i get home is maybe two or three black cars in front of the appartment block, it couldn't be good. I try to make myself the more silent possible, i climb up the stairs and i hear a lot of noise on the upper flors, that's unusual. Usually, they are more silent because most of the people live on the lower floors. All of sudden, when turning on a corner, he saw one of his neighbor miss. Sarah, crying, when she saw me, she took me by the shoulders, and said to me panicked.

\- Go hide ! These men... they are looking for your parents... and probably by association you...they're killing people ! They'll probably kill you too!

Suddenly, the sound I heard earlier on the upper floors stopped, and shortly after, footsteps could be heard in the staircase. Ms. Sarah heard them too and looked at me with a serious look.

\- Listen, i'll hold them there, go hide, i want you to live, you don't have a lot of time, go...NOW !

I don't need to be told again, after that, i begin to run, run faster than I ever ran. This is litteraly for my life, for god's sake. I don't know what my parents had done to piss those guys off, but it had to be major, cause now they want to KILL us! I open the door to the apartment, and I begin to panick, what do i do ? Do I call my parents ? There's no time. Do I run away ? There's no escape. My only option is to hide, but where ? Where wouldn't they search ? Strangely, the first place my mind goes to is the laundry, the laundry? Where would i hide ? Then in the distance, i hear a gunshot in the hallway,, time's was up for , and it would be over for me soon if I don't find a place to save my skin.

I followed what my instinc first told me and went into the basement, i looked around me and didn't see a lot of place to hide

\- Great * I said to myself * I caught myself in a trap, i doomed myself to death.

But after i said that, i sensed something strange and unsual, i tried to feel where it was coming from, when i heard a loud nose coming from upstairs. They had entered they apartment, i had to hurry. Then i saw it, there was an old air duct grate, i feel like there was some sound coming out of it. I'm sure that if i open it, i can fit in. Because i have no other plan, this is what i begin to do. I hear the footsteps, they are searching for my parents, and potentially for me. I gotta go fast, the sounds are more distinct and i can now feel wind now, strangely, because there is no windows close. I finish to open the gate when i hear the footsteps approching the door leading to the basement. When suddenly, i feel sucked into the air duct grate, and the last thing i hear is the door opening, when everything went dark.


	2. Gregor the King

**Disclaimer : I do NOT own Underland Chronicles, all characters belongs to Suzanne Collins. Only Nick is mine.**

3rd Person ( Gregor )

Gregor woke up that day, having a strange feeling. Maybe it was just another of these days, thoses were something absolutely horrible will happen, but it's probably not. He maybe was just tired. He took a moment to think, yeah, it was now eight years since he decided to permanently stay in the Underland. When he came back for the last time in the Underland, his grandmother had been hospitalized, she passed on a week or so after that, her mother wanted to move them away to Virgina, to stay away from all that could have a link with Regalia and all that occured here. But Gregor could not just run away from there, not after all of this, all this war, all those people that died. He could not just get away and forget them.

So made his decision, and he told his parents, his mother freaked out, not just a bit. But his father seemed okay with it. Boots grabbed my leg, she was crying.

\- Don't go, Gre-go !

He has felt heartbroken to see her little sister like that, she was almost always so happy, so to see her like that was really sad. It almost gave him the will to change idea, go with his family, and forget about all of this. Almost. Because there was strong that was keeping him from staying home with his family. It was his feeling with Luxa, he could simply not forget about her, or repress his feelings for her.

But at my biggest surprise, Lizzie that had been silent for most of the conversation, got up and said.

\- I-I think i wanna go too.

That was really unexpected, for the parents and for Gregor. Lizzie, that has been so scared of going there in the first place was willing to going back ? Indefinitely. Everyone looked at her with a mix of incomprehension, surprise, and a he sensed a bit of fear coming from her mother.

\- But Liz... why?

Liz had think about it for a few minutes before she has begun to speak.

\- Because there is so much that i could learn from there that i didn't even consider to see before. When we got here, there wasn't a lot of time for that, since that world was at war. Now, peace has returned, and i am really curious of the possibilty of what i could see and learn from there. I really want to go back to the Underland

Gregor was happy to hear that from her, and he knows that inside of her, she really wanted to see Ripred again, he was sure that the old gnawer felt the same. I think that decision led to a domino effect, because shortly after, his father said that he was really curious too and said basically the same arguments than Lizzie's. His mother must have felt really overwhelmed, because she started to scream against it, that this world have droven us crazy. She said that Lizzie should not go again because of her panic attacks, that her father should not go, because the Underland already took a lot from him, including his mental health. Finally, she said that he should not go, because it took his innocence and that the only reason that he was going back, was to pursuit an hopeless romance. First off, he didn't know that his interest for Luxa was THAT obvious, secondly, it was false. He didn't went back at Regalia just for Luxa, he went back her because that's were he felt he belonged now.

It took probably a few hours to resolve what Gregor thought would be a simple problem at the beginning, obviously he has been wrong. His mother and Boots would go to Virginia, while his father, Lizzie and him would go live in the Underland. In all the outcomes he has thought would be possible at the beginning of the day, that was probably one he didn't expect to happen.

Finally the day had arrived, his mom was still hesitant, but who wouldn't be ? They were basically spliting forever, his father promised her that he would come often, he could just not let Lizzie and Gregor live in the Underland alone, without their family. From what Gregor understood, his dad would switch between the two worlds every four months. A bit complex, but he understood that was best for both worlds.

Coming back down there, was a special feeling, especially considering that he thought that he would never see this world again. He tried to imagine what would their reaction be like, the only ones that knew that he was back was Aurora and a new bat named Dawn, that came to take us to the Underworld. Luxa, Vikus, and all the others are still not informed.

For the surprise, we convinced the both of them to stay silenced about this. He was really happy to be able to see her again, probably a lot because he thought that he would be separated from her forever.

When Aurora and Dawn transported them back to Regalia, he just realised how big the decision he just made was. He has chosen Underland, a choice he probably wouldn't have made when he came here the first time. But he absolutely did not regret it, for Lizzie, it was another story, she visibly had the face of '' oh god, what have i done ? '' He begun to reassure her, they would be fine. No more wars, no more friends dying, they would be safe, and a whole new world of opportunity was opening for them. Overland just didn't seemed that appealing for them anymore, not after having lived all of this for saving this world.

When they landed in Regalia, the people stared at them with disbelief, was the ex-Warrior really back ? They were looking at them with curiosity, but they were mostly surprised. Gregor was mostly excited to see all his friends, so he didn't give too much attention to that.

When they ( finally ) reached the castle, he could feel his heart beating as hard as it could. He hoped that he was not having a heart attack, that would be really bad. They all walked in the familiar hallways, in silence. They were not just visiting anymore, or staying here for a while then go home. No, now, it was their home, their new home. Well, for Gregor and Lizzie that is.

They feel why they wanted to get out of here in the first place, all the dead, all those dark memories, and the shadows that it had. Those who died to bring peace to Regalia. Gregor didn't, and never will, forget them. Ares... the memory of his deceased bond hurt his heart a lot. He shake his head, if he wants to stay that much, he'll have to live past that, and accept their death. It didn't mean it was going to be easy though.

They reached the council's room, Aurora had said to them, that Luxa was presently in there, talking with the Council, about future wedding, and what is to come for the Kingdom. The word '' wedding '' have made Gregor very, very angry. He knew it was probably selfish, but he would not accept that Luxa marry with someone, that knowing the Council, she would probably would not love.

After they waited a while outside, waiting for a good opportunity to introduce themselves, Gregor looked at his father, then at his sister, then at the two fliers, looking for their silent approval. Then he entered.

The room was dead silent, that was his first thought as he saw the room. Everyone was looking at them, but they mostly focused on Gregor. Luxa, herself, looked at the new arrivals, and stayed frozen. It seemed like the time stopped for a few minutes, Gregor, was really uncomfortable had having so many people looking at him, saying nothing.

Then, with her eyes that seemed to be sparkling, but he could not say for sure, Luxa ran toward Gregor, and hugged him strongly. He looked at her in the eyes. Was she crying?

One of the elder, visibly uncomfortable, like Gregor was, just asked.

\- Oh... the Warrior... wh-what are you doing here ?

He didn't answered immediatly, he took a little moment to hold Luxa, then they separed, Gregor smiled at her, happy to see her again, then turn to the elder that had spoken.

\- First of, why not ? I can come here when I want, and secondly, I am not the Warrior anymore, the Warrior is dead, my name is Gregor.

The Council talked about it for a while, what for ? They definitively knew that Gregor broke his sword, representing the end of the warrior. He did not bother to listen to the rest of it, and give all of his attention to Luxa, that was near him.

She was really crying, probably not of sadness due to the circonstances, she looked at Gregor, happy, but curious. She had difficulty to speak with her tears, but she finally managed to ask.

\- B-but... Gregor...I thought you were coming back home ?

The boy in question smiled, somehow, he knew she was going to ask this question later or sooner, and he knew the exact answer to that question.

\- Because Luxa, when I got back up there, I realized that after all of this, all those adventures. Regalia has become my new home, this is were I want to live my life. And this life, i want to spend it with you.

He didn't knew how, but this answer somehow turned into a love confession.

After that, she just smiled and pulled him closer. He was not really sure why, but seeing that she was going to speak, he didn't spoke.

\- Gregor, the Overlander, or shall I now say, the Underlander, former Warrior, guardian of Regalia, your prestige and your name is known far and wide throught the kingdom. I, Queen Luxa, ask for your hand, if you accept, you will be known as King Gregor, the first.

Well, that was a shock to say the least, for Gregor, for his family, and most of all, for the Council, that tried like hell to find her a husband from a noble family, they didn't really expected that she would choose... him.

They tried to object for a few (boring) hours,sorting all of their old scrolls, old rules and ancient books, but they could not give one valid reasons to stop their queen. They just didn't have that kind of authority.

Gregor, after the initial shock, smiled, probably the most honest, biggest smile he ever gave. Rarely dreams come true, if not never, well, that's what he thought. Was he dreaming right now ? Because this was so , dream or not, he didn't hesitate on the answer.

\- Yes, Lu-My Queen, i accept, with all my heart and love, i accept to marry you.

The two lovers didn't waste any time as they hug, and then kissed under the eyes of the elders.

* 8 years later *

King Gregor is walking in the hallways of the castle, he cannot shake the feeling he sensed this morning. Something will definitively happen today. He didn't had this kind of sensation in years, since the beginning of his reign with his wife, Luxa, nothing really happened, nothing major, at least, some minor incidences with the gnawers, but it was to be expected, after so many year of wars, peace between species would not be easy, but not impossible. Gregor worked hard for so many years no to encourage cooperation, and now, it's beginning to pay off, but there is a lot of work to be done still.

Luxa, after 8 years, he still couldn't have enough of her, he loved her so much. Never, not a single, he ever regretted marying her. But he did missed Boots and mom, and he thinks that Temp miss Boots too, maybe that one day, when she'll grow up, she will be back, but Gregor doesn't know if her mom would talk to her about this

While walking he saw Vikus, accompanied by a nurse, the man was really old at that point. The stroke he suffered years ago certainly didn't help either, they gave him only a few years to live, that certainly makes Gregor feel sad. Vikus was one of the nicest Underlanders he met in his time here, so seeing in this state broke his heart.

A few minutes later, he met with Dulcet, one of his friends in the castle, she was with Vikus one of the first to have been nice to him, so he had always kept a place in his heart for her. When she met him, she smiled and told him about her life, how she was married and had a a child. That made him wonder, if a child was a possibility in the moment. Of course, it's necessary for him to have one, hell, he is the KING, so having a child is pretty much a priority, but he still had a few years for that.

He passed by the infirmary to check on Howard, on all of Luxa's cousins, Howard was probably his favourite. He was nice, caring, and didn't have to better-than-everyone that his sister Stellovet had. They talked for a little while, joking, and talking about a bit of everything about what happened in the last few years. When I was to go back to my own occupations, he stopped me.

\- Oh, sorry to make you stop, but do you remember that my family is visiting.

Oh god damn it, was what passing through his mind when Howard reminded him of this, of course they would come visiting from time to time, but he wasn't really in the good mood to deal with Stellovet. Of course, the rest of them are fine, but it was her, that he could really not stand. He thanked him and went back to the throne's room, he had to think about this feeling he had, and how to deal with this visit. He...needed time to think. But of course the world wouldn't let him have that.

\- MY KING ! MY KING ! * screamed a servant, running in the room *

\- What is it ? A Prophecy, again ? * Gregor said, annoyed *

\- Not quite...

So it has to be one of those boring work, he had to do, but forgot. Like a some random meeting that he forgot to attend to. Well, whatever it was, it promised to be really boring.

\- We found one ! We detected an Overlander !

Well, he just jinxed it.

 **Thank you to have read my chapter, please review if you have time, and have a good day!**


	3. Wake Up and Other Things

_1st Person ( Nick )_

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes is, I'M NOT DEAD. How the heck was that possible ? I try to think about what happened without really observing my environnement. I was in my laundry room, in my basement, no way to escape. Those men, whoever they are, were going downstaires, for most probably kill me like they killed ms. Sarah. I feel horrible right now, what has my parents done for that to happen ? For what I know, they are just ordinary adults, who are doing their best to pay their bills and make a good life for their son.

* Remember, this is New York, no one is as clean as they seem * My conscience said.

Yes of course, everyone knows that, but it is a lot more difficult to accept in the context of your parents. What could they possibly have done ? Were they doing deals with the mob and they would never tell me? Low chance, my father always had been against the mafia, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense. I think I should make a sense to all of this later, because I have a bigger problem in my hands right now. Where am I? It sure as hell wasn't my basement. It's a lot darker, I have a lot difficulty to see, I can sense some ground, not the floor, really a ground. I try to put myself up, I can see some light source in the distance. I move forward to it, almost automatically, I am sooo freaking out. Am I in fact dead ? Is that just some purgatory, that I must go through ? I hope not, even for a purgatory, I had some better expectations. No, it felt too real, and probably less creepy and frightening. I didn't feel the presence of death, what would be the case if I was in hell.

For the small amount of things I could really see, I know there are rocks, there was wild grass, so this is probably not Heaven nor Hell, if not, somebody should be hired to cut it. Then I heard some sounds, this doesn't sounds like a langage, or an human language. Wherever I was, where in the world an air duct grate could had led me really. Maybe I fell to the other side of the earth, and fell to China, but really, it looks nothing like one of the most polluted country in the world. So I guess it's a good thing ? To be serious for a moment, how could falling into probably a hole of some sort, i presume, could lead me into a wild place. It's probably not Wonderland, it's a bit less colourfull. Or I am going insane, and i'm presently in my basement drooling on the floor, with a gun pointed at my head. That's a possibility.

Then I heard the same sounds, but this time, they were behind me, I would lie if I said it didn't scared me...a lot. I turned myself to see what could be behind me, my eyes were getting used to the obscurity, and strangely, everything seemed a lot more easy for me to see. Like almost bright day light, a bit strange, but I won't complain. Then, the thing that produced the strange noise presented himself. It was a cockroach, a really, really big cockroach. I could say that it intrigued me, that I wondered how it was biologically possible for a bug to be taller than an human, but really, my first reaction is :

\- AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I try to step back behind, but I don't run, where would I run anyway, i'll just try to maybe... I don't know, pray and hope that it doesn't eat me ? Fortunately, it does nothing, it just looks at me with a perplex expression, or what I guess is an perplex expression, it's hard to say on a cockroach, you know ?

\- Temp...scary ?

Humm... did this insect just talked ? I looked around, it couldn't had been something else, or rocks in... wherever I am can talk, which would not really not surprise me at this point, but the giant cockroah seems more possible. I want to say that, yeah, he is really scary, but that's probably more because he's giant, more that the fact that he is a bug. They don't bother me that much usually. Considering the fact that it could rip my head off if it wanted, I'll try to play it cool, and I'll assume that ''Temp'' is his name.

\- Oh no ! You just... surprised me...

I had difficulty to look at him or it, in the eyes, it was just so strange. I never saw something like this at home ! How could it be possible ? In what kind of environment did this beast grew to be this big ? Did it had the same kind of alimentation, than where I come from ? So many questions and I don't think that this cockroach named Temp will be the best one to answer to it.

\- Searching for human, Temp is.

Humans ? Is there other humans ? But how would they look, there is barely any light here ? History of humanity showed that our species adapted to where they lived. By exemple, Africans, to adapt to the heat of the continent, begun to have a darker skin. Of course, those kind of changes don't occur on a day. If a human should live in the dark for maybe a few years, what would he resemble. He'll probably have a really pale skin, with the lack of luminosity, and probably more blonde or white hair, for the same reasons. I can't clearly make a picture, because I think that if I continue to think that much, I'll end up having a headache, again.

\- Humans ? There are humans here ?

Temp, I'll just go with it and call it by his name, just to stop thinking about the logic of it, just made a sound that I'll interpret as a yes. It's not really easy to understand a cockroach speaking, you know ? I would love to see you try.

\- Humans, there is.

Well, that's a relief, I guess. Other humans, but how big will they be? I just can imagine them being 15 foot tall, considering the fact that this insect is a bit taller than me. I look at Temp, still feeling really intimidated by him.

\- Hum... could you bring me to them ?

My curiosity and fear were at all time high, I was curious to see what this place could show me, but at the same time I was afraid of all the things in this world that could kill me. Probably a lot of things. I wanted to meet the humans, because I knew a little bit what to expect, and there is more probability that they won't kill me. Maybe subject me to numberous science research, but death probably won't come, for the time being I'd say.

\- This is what Temp send for.

Send for ? What ? Was he patrolling for fallen humans ? Or were they already aware of my presence and sended him to get me ? But how could that be ? I don't know how much time I spend inconscious, maybe a few hours. Maybe, between that period of time, something or someone stumbled into me, probably saw that I was human, went back, signalled my presence and then they send Temp to come and get me. That is my most logical explanation, but in that cas, either they are fast as hell, or I was inconscious for a very long time.

But could I trust Temp ? Probably, I mean, I don't think it has bad intentions. If it wanted to kill him himself, he would probably had done it by now, but I should still stay on guard. Maybe it wants to bring him to his leader, to commit some sort of sacrifice to their random god. Or I just too deep into this. If there is human out there, it's probably to them that he is going to go. Or maybe they are going to him ? You think too much, way too much. I hope they have aspirin, because I think I am going to need them soon.

\- Could you lead they way, 'cause you now, I don't really know what this place is.

Then it made a strange move that I'll interpret as '' follow me '' because it just turned away and went in some direction. I had two options, follow him and risking death, or stay there and have a guaranteed death. Well, I just evaded death, so I think my momentum is good right now, and I still want to live, so let's follow the cockroach !

I followed him through the cave, and the rocks. There was a lot of rocks I must stay, but not really precious minerals from what I could see. Correction, no precious minerals I can identify, there was a lot of rocks I had no idea what it was, and I took my science class, I know my periodic table, but none of them identify as any of them. It was really interesting, maybe one other time, when I'm not scared for my life, I would go back there and find out more about them.

Then, the Light arrived. We arrived outside. It was beautiful, a lot of wild forest. They wind on my skin, the fresh air. Nothing I would ever see in New York. It was breathtaking. I almost had tears in my eyes. Almost. Anyway, Temp made us walk for a few minutes to a plain. I wondered why in all of the places, we stopped here.

\- Hum... Temp ? Why are we stopping ?

\- They are here

\- They ? Who

\- Us.

I turned to where I heard the voice, it was in the sky, I looked up. Bats, giant flying talking bats. Oh god, why was that a thing ? I don't hate bats, but I don't particuliary love them either. I remember once, on a visit to an aunt in Canada, I was playing around at night when one of them attacked me. Well... '' attack '' is maybe a strong word, but it scared the hell out of me.

And there we were, even bigger bats, and if a cockroach can talk. I'll assume they talk too. I wonder if I'll end up having a tea conversation with a rock, one day. It was crazy. I stepped back really quickly, surprised by the sudden appearance. When I thought the bats were gonna jump on me and tear me in parts, I noticed their were people on the bats. Riders. Humans, from what I could see, I couldn't see them really well, some of them were in heavy armour, I'll assume they were guards. I tried to talk, but I was stuttering.

-Wh-Who are you ?

The bats and their riders landed near us, it made some wind while they did that, but it wasn't that bad. I could stand on my feet, if we exclude the fact, that I am extremly confused what is happening right now. Humans riding bats, sounds like a cool concept. But dragons would be cooler. Am I really complaining ? Damn, never knew I was that difficult...

The woman had a really, really pale skin, I could almost count all of the veins and things like that. It was a bit disgusting. She had blonde hair, and purple eyes, well that was uncommon. I think my previous theory was kinda close enough, well... maybe not for the 15 ft part. They were pretty an normal adult sized human. How does that world work ? It's so confusing !

The other boy, was surprisingly really different, his skin was kinda pale, but it was a lot more beige that I would expected it to be. He had brown eyes and hair. Really, he does not feel like someone who had lived all his life in the ground. Then suddenly I noticed something on both of their heads. Their crowns. They were _royalty_. Oh shit. Were they there to cut my head off ? No, I have to calm down. I take big breath, to try to calming myself. I think both of them noticed that I was panicking. The woman walked closer.

\- Calm down, boy, we are not here to hurt you, we are just here to get you to Regalia to get you checked.

I don't know what is Regalia, and what they meant by getting '' checked '', but I'll just go with it. That's pretty much the only thing I can really do right now.

\- Uhm...my...queen? What is Regalia?

The girl look at the other boy and they laughed, what were they laughing about ?

\- No need to call me queen, for the instance, just call me Luxa. For information, Regalia is the capital city of the human territories. But we'll explain all that to you later.

The other boy, that looked strangely more like a normal human being, walked closer too.

\- My name's Gregor, I'm happy to see that you met Temp, we weren't sure he would find you. By they way, it's nice to see someone new from the Overland. But like Luxa said, all the things we've just said, we'll explain them to you once we get back to Regalia.

WHAT ? Regalia ? Overland ? Human Territories ? Too...much...informatioon. I feel my brain exploding, finally overloading. I lose consciousness.

And it all went dark once again.


	4. Rescue and StellaZilla

**Disclaimer : I do NOT own The Underland Chronicles, it's the propriety of Suzanne Collins.**

( Gregor ) 3rd person

The boy fell on the ground, unconscious.

Well that could have gone better...

Gregor looked at the new Overlander, he was skinny, looked fragile, but was kinda tall. He had brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing a pair of glasses, fortunaly still intact. He was wearing a New York Islander's T-Shirt, which made him smile. He personally prefered the Rangers, but it was still nice to see something from his birthtown. His pants were in really bad shape. He would never run a marathon with them again, that's for sure. Well, he would probably not anyway, seeing that his athletics abilities seems to be lacking.

Luxa went near him.

\- Do you think he could be usefull to us?

\- Certainly not as a warrior, but let's be honest, that post is already full, but I think he could be competent as a diplomat or a strategist.

\- Oh, I see, a mind guy. * She seems a bit disappointed* What are those ? * Pointing at the glasses *

\- Those are glasses, they are used by the people who have vision troubles. Either it is the lack of short-distance view, or long distance, sometimes both. If he loses them, he won't be able to see properly. Like I said, completly useless in a fight.

Luxa sighed, to be honest, she hoped for better. Oh well, they can't all be aces. He'll probably be used to read maps or something.

\- Luxa, could you take him on Aurora? I would want you to explain the bonding with Fliers thing when he wakes up. I would do it myself, but I know you are way better than me to explain that kind of things, and at least you didn't lose your bonded. It would be awkward.

Gregor didn't liked to think about Ares that much, even to this day it hurts him, but he knows that right now he has to get over it.

\- But what if he wakes up, get explained, faint again, then fall into a crater to his doom, and to a horrible and painfull death ?

That was oddly specific. It was a bit scary in fact.

\- Then in that case, you'll go and save him, my dear. We don't want him to die, and personally, I'm pretty confident he'll be able to follow this time.

\- Oh ? What is going to be different this time around ?

\- He'll be more fresh and disposed, we've tried to tell him too many things at once. If we go and explain things one by one, slow and steady, to let him catch his breath and make sure he follows. It would be a lot easier for him

\- We didn't had to do that when you came down there.

Gregor laughed for himself. It's funny how the situation was kinda similar in a sense. He remembers when he arrived, he was so much in a hurry to come back in his world, that he didn't even let them a chance to explain themselves, or at least, he completly ignored their warning. Thinking about that just made Gregor realised something, don't that boy have a family? Were they searching for him right now in New York ? They will have to send him back soon, but right now he was here.

\- I was basically a kid at that time, and even then I didn't believed you. Do you imagine how a teen would react ? I think we're lucky he only lost consciousness.

Gregor just remembered something, Luxa's cousins were coming today. They had to go back to Regalia, fast. He felt horrible for that boy. He must have an horrible day, first he falls in an unknown world, and then Stellovet. How worse of a day can you get? He remembers when he first met her. She was arrogant, and just an horrible person in general. To rest of her family is okay, hell, Howard was now one of his closer friends, even though they didn't started on the best of terms. He didn't really talked to the rest of them, they were just...there. He remembered the little girl, how was she called again ? He never really caught her name, he just knew it sounded like '' Chimney ''.

\- Hum, Luxa... If we want to prepare for Stellazilla, we would maybe want to bring him, take him our your bonded and go back to Regalia. _Now_

\- Yeah you're right. We should barricade the castle.

She climbed on Aurora, as Gregor climbed on Dawn. Dawn was friendly, a lot more than Ares, but he still missed him. He felt attached to the exiled Flier. He felt the loneliness, and they shared so many adventures, that when he died, he felt like a part of his soul had been riped from him. Dawn knew that and respected that, she never tried to replace him or make him forget about him, Gregor liked her for that.

The flight was silent, their was a lot of tension in the air. Like all the time Stellovet was coming at Regalia. Even the population was actually scared of here, who knew what she could do ? Technically if Luxa and Narissa died, SHE would be the next in line, which is a terrifying thought. Gregor don't really know her enough to really know what she could do, but he imagine, by what they told him, it would be an combination of Mussolini and Hitler, with a little bit of Hussein for flavors. So, really not a good thing.

They arrived at Regalia, Gregor hugged Dawn, she understood what it meant, it was like a ''wish me good luck'' type of hug. Luxa climbed down of Aurora, the Fliers flied away to other occupations. Some nanny's went and took the Overlander away, they would check him, he doesn't know if they will actually burn his clothes like they did to him when he first arrived. The situation is different, we are at peace with the gnawers, but they probably will anyway. Gregor negociated to save the New York Islanders's shirt. They said they will keep it in the museum. At least he won that.

He makes his way to the castle, the servants were nervous, like everyone else. Not a single laugh in the castle, of course, some people bowed to him, and he made them stand up. After a few years at being King, Gregor never really felt like one. He married Luxa of love, but being King was not really his plan. He doesn't hate it, it just feels awkward to see everyone treat him with that much more respect, and to see them bow in front of him. He still does his job the best he can, while staying himself has been a lot harder than he tought it would.

He stops one of the nanny's.

\- Did the Overlander wake up ?

\- Still not, my Lord.

\- Okay, could you bring him to me when he does ?

\- Sure, my Lord

Gregor smiled at her.

\- No need to call me Lord, Gregor does just fine.

\- Yes My...I mean. Yes, Gregor...

He continued his way into the throne room. He met with Luxa. The guest will arrive soon. He made sure that everything was ready. They could be here any minute now. He didn't really wanted to meet her, he would rather not do it, but it's like the unlikeable relative in a family party. You just have to get it over with.

The air was almost poisonous, their was not the usual joyous ambiance, but everyone was nervous, scared. Even Howard, strangely was stressed. His relations with his sister was not that great either. Not since the end of the war anyway, he really distanced himself a lot from them, concentrating on his job on the castle. There was a lot to do, a lot of injured, or sick patients. The war had horrible consequences on the population, so Howard made his mission the help the people the more he could. If the local population of Regalia greatly appreciated his help, it's mostly not the cause for Stellovet, who accused him of trying to strenghten Luxa's reign. Her ambition of going on the throne has never been hidden, and she hoped that a war-tired, sick population, would feel abandonned and would overthrow her cousin, but obviously that wasn't going to happen.

So this visit was going to be really interesting indeed. Gregor hoped that at least the presence of her siblings would calm her a bit. Not too much of course, a calm Stellovet is even scarier than the angry one, but at least that she won't jump at the throat of his queen.

They heard the sound of the horse approaching, Gregor walked to the window, who had a view on the front of the castle, and on the city. It was a carriage, yeah, it was them. Gregor send a few servants to go welcome the guest. He reassured them that it was going to be fine, it was just a family visit. No diplomatic discutions, hopefully no assasinations attemps. It calmed them a bit, but they were still afraid from what would come in the next few hours. Gregor was too, it would be though.

Silence came, the servents were gone, in the room their was only Gregor and Luxa, waiting. Luxa just said.

\- Let me deal with Stellovet, it's my cousin, I know her best and I think she despises me a bit less than you, but that's not saying much.

Gregor couldn't disagree with that. Maybe a few minutes later, Howard came into the room. Gregor asked what he was doing here.

\- It's my family, of course there is one that I don't particuliary like, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to meet them, and if that person actually causes some troubles, I think I'm more familiar with her to calm her down.

Gregor felt a bit stupid, of course his friends would come see them, it was bit reassuring. If he was there, maybe the whole thing would not go as bad as he expected.

They talked for a bit about anything really, every subject of conversation. They really needed to calm down, and focus their minds on other things, but the time was coming really fast.

They heard the footsteps coming. Gregor could hear his heartbeat. A servant, shaking in nervosity entered the room. The time seemed to have stoped for a second. He managed to say.

\- My Queen, My King, they are here.

Luxa forced herself to stay dignified and composed. Gregor knew he was nervous, his left leg was shaking a bit, but he tried to do the same. Stay calm, he said to himself, you will not die...hopefully. Stellovet entered, she was wearing a luxurious dress. She had this disdainfull look that everyone was familiar with. York, a brave warrior from what Gregor remembered and Susannah, who was friendly advanced and bowed to Luxa, and then to him. Gregor smiled, and made sign to stand up.

\- You don't need to bow to me, I am only a man, and I prefer to be friendly to the people.

\- So you're not much of a King, aren't you Overlander ?

Without surprise, that remark came from Stellovet with a lot of bitterness. Luxa stood up to response, but Gregor just made her a sign to calm down, and he laughed.

\- Well, I think I have better qualifications than you to be called ''King'', or there is some things that I don't know about you!

She reddened of anger, while the other in the rooms laughed, most of them silently, but Luxa couldn't hold her amusement.

\- How dare you insult me ! Do you know who I am ?

Gregor prefered to not respond, he just made a facial expression that said a lot.

Luxa, now calmly stood up and tried to calm her.

\- Now, cousin, let's talk calmly. * She turned to the others * How are you all ?

She started to talk to them all, Gregor mainly tried to learn the names, the two twins were called Hero and Kent. Hero was a girl, to be precise. He never thought Hero could be a name, even more a girl's name, but he deal with it, and then there was Chim, he felt so old while seeing her. She had grown so much ! But still as timid as ever, as she is hidden behind her mother.

Things started to cool down a bit, Luxa and Howard talked to their relatives, Stellovet was staying away, complaining to the servants, but that wasn't too bad. Gregor stayed where he was, smiling, things were going way better than he expected, maybe this wasn't going to be so bad ?

Of course, he had to jinx himself.

When everything was going fine, the door to the hall opened, the boy they rescued earlier entered shaking, he said, not without stuttering.

\- Hum...i-is G-Gregor here ? The n-nurse said to go here...

 **And this is the end of this chapter ! All the thanks in the world for those reading this story ! Just knowing that some people read me warm my heart.**

 **Sorry for the wait, English is not my first language, so it takes me a bit longer to write. Not impossible, I am bilingual ( My first language being French.) But it does slow my writing pace.**

 **Thank you a lot koipbuiop for the review ! It highly motivated me to write !**

 **If you have liked or disliked, I would invite to review to see what I could improve in the next chapters.**


	5. Meeting the Family

*** Disclaimer* I do NOT own The Underland Chronicles, it's the propriety of Suzanne Collins**

Nick (1st Person)

Ouch...My head...I must have hurt it when...Wait where am I?

I remember, there was those bats and their riders. I think my brain may have overloaded again. It tends to happen from time to time, but today wasn't really the greatest of days to happen.

Obviously I am not in the same place, I clearly remember being in a solid ground earlier. Now, I'm on a some kind of bed. They must of took me there. How did they called it earlier? Regalia ? Yeah, I must be here. It doesn't help me a whole lot, I still don't know what it is, and where it's supposed to be.

I'm not going to start on the questions once again, it would drive me crazy. Then suddenly, I realise that I'm not in the same clothes anymore. Gone were my shoes, my pants, and my shirt. How dare they take off my glorious Islanders T-Shirt ! At least I'm not naked, or in the plate of some ogre. At least there's that.

The clothes were in some sort of silk. It was comfortable, I'll give them that. The only question I really have for this situation is, who had the job to undress me? I pity him or her. I wonder how much that person got paid, a lot I hope. Let's get back to the point.

I get up, and I look around. From the structure of the room, here is my analysis. Architecture seems to be more ancient than ours. It's still beautiful though. The materials are really well polished. It made me think of the Egyptians, a great people, and their buildings were still to this day studied in architectural classes. It could very well be the same here, just looking at this room makes me think that there could be a lot of things I could learn down there.

Talking of down there, how profond are we ? The most deep hole that humanity has ever dig is 12,290 metres. The Al Asheen Oil Field. It's from Qatar, and I fell from New York. So how is it possible ? I don't America has ever dug holes that big.

While I am thinking about how all of this situation could be possible, a woman enters the room. I stop my thinking process to see who just entered. She was woman, yeah, I know that is obvious, from her look, she's maybe 23-24 years old ?

She looks surprised to see me wake up, so she makes a step back, but then quickly compose herself, and make a warming smile. I think she's probably a nurse, otherwise, why would she be here ? The fact that her uniform pointed at that helped too.

\- '' Oh, did our little Overlander wake up ? ''

Little ? I'm pretty tall for my age, miss. Is what I would I had said if I didn't understood what she said. I am tall, but I am really skinny. So it doesn't bother me that much, at least I am not a douchebag. I am what I am.

\- '' Yes...I suppose, and who are you ? ''  
I had a lot of questions, but I prefered to start by this one. By knowing her name, I try to create a more comfortable atmosphere and a bit of familiarity, because right now I sense a lot of stress in the air.

She smiles at me, it calmed me down. She seemed friendly, but I still stay on my guard, I don't know what they would do with me.

\- My name's Dulcet, I have been chosen to take care of you while you rest from your incident.

Take care of me ? Calm down, hormones, calm down! Yes, she is a very attractive woman, but I have to focus on more important things right now. Understanding my situation may help my to accept it, I don't hope for a miracle, but it's the only trail that I do have right now. First of all, I have to make a list of question to ask in the right order. I have to clear these of if I want to really think properly. I'll assume the incident she is talking about is when I lost consciousness.

\- '' Okay so... where am I?''

She turns her head away, thinking for a few seconds then comes back with a smile.

-'' You're in the city of Regalia, capital of the human territory.''

\- '' Yes, I already know that, but what is it? Where is it? What kind of government is it? ''

She looks like she's overwhelmed by my questions, I don't think she was expecting that. No one ever expects it. When I start to ask questions, it never comes alones, there's always sub-questions.

\- '' Hum...Okay...Regalia is a town founded long, long ago by a man named Bartholomew of Sandwich. He was an Overlander just like you, but he decided to come down with a group of people, and he founded the town. That is what I can say to you right now, about that. Where is it is pretty simple, it's in the Underland. I'm not the most well placed to explain it to you, as for the government, it is a monarchy. We have the Queen and the King, which you will meet later, by the way, and there is the council, who have not as much influence than before, thankfully. Under that regency, a lot of disasters almost occured. But at the risk of repeting myself again, it is not a story for me to tell. Anyway, I don't think you are in the good state for that, you need to rest. You went under I assume a lot of stress, and you need to rest, that is why you fainted in the first place.''

I don't think I really want to go back to Dreamland, especially after all this explanations. It let me a lot to think about. I think the term _Underland_ is pretty clear. It is a civilisation under the surface, that is what I understand. They seem to follow a monarchy, but what kind? I don't think there are election, so I'll rule out the constitutional monarchy, but she talked about a council. How are their members chosen, by the people, or by the royalty? Do they some power, or are they just regular politicians, only arguing without real point? I think I should some research about Regalia's politics later, but right now, I just have to cope.

\- '' Oh, I just forgot ! The King said he wanted to meet you when you wake up. I suppose you could go now, but it's most likely he'll be busy by now. So I'll warn you, please try to be careful. I do not want to see someone come in five minutes to say that they found you inconscious. ''

She then proceded to escort me towards an unknown room, I couldn't really escape this place even if I did wanted to. I was too unfamiliar with whatever it is. I don't even know in what kind of building I am. Most probably a castle, considering it is the royal family residence from what I understood, so that would be most logical. But it would take me at least a day or two to memorize the directions to actually find my way in there. We arrive in front of a big door. Well, considering it is one of the biggest door of the castle, excluding the entrance. That Dulcet stopped in front of it, I'll assume it is where I'll find him. Now that I think of her name, I realize that I never did tell her my name. Well, she never asked for it. So... I guess I'll tell her later. If I survive. I'm not Alice in Wonderland, I don't think they are going to cut my head off, but it's still possible. I take a big breathe and open the door. I feel myself shaking.

\- '' Hum...i-is G-Gregor here? The n-nurse said to go here... ''

I curse my own shyness. I mean, dude, you're talking to... a lot more people than expected...Abort the mission ! Abort the mission ! In the room, there is Queen Luxa, and King Gregor, those I understand, but apparently there must have been some meeting that they didn't told me, because there is at least seven other people that I don't know about. They must be related, because they all have that family feeling from all of them. I realise that I must have interrupted something because every single one of them were looking at them, strangely my first reaction was to look at their reaction. Most of them has that surprised and/or intrigued expression, but there is that one woman that is giving me a murderous look. I think she would cut my throat if she could. I don't even know her, but my instinct tells me to stay away from her, if not, it would be bad for my health. She is the first one to speak, with disdain.

\- '' Who is this ? Who dare interfere? Guards ! Get that man ! ''

Oh dear. I prepare to run for my life, faster than Forrest Gump ever could when I see Gregor coming in my direction with a smile.

\- '' No need for that Stellovet! In fact, it's me that told him to come here. ''

Luxa looked at him with this look, that I can only translate by _Are you f***** kidding me ?_.

\- '' Are you serious Gregor ? You bring him here, _now?_ Couldn't you have chosen a better moment for that ? ''

Gregor shrugged.

\- '' I said to Dulcet to lead him here as soon as he would woke up, I just hoped it would haven happened later. ''

The woman, named Stellovet apparently, looked at them with fury, she stomped on the ground like a spoiled child, and shout.

\- '' I order, that you two explains what's going on, RIGHT NOW! ''

The couple looked at each other and sighed, as for myself, I go in a corner, and I wait for an opportunity to talk to Gregor, probably when the heat would have gone down. It is not my time to speak nor to act. So I just hope that those two will be able to calm down that harpy.

\- '' Ok, the boy over there is an Overlander that just came down, we brought him here a little bit before you arrival. It would be very appreciated if you don't kill him, I know he doesn't look like much, but you and I know that, when an Overlander reach the Underland, there must be a solid reason for it, there is no chance in it. ''

She growl and turn herself around. I sigh, thank god they are a bit diplomat, I don't want to be any more trouble. Gregor turn himself back to me, and smile.

\- '' My boy, don't be scared, come here and present yourself! ''

The more time is passing, less and less I like this guy. Like really, there is a good reason why I am hiding in this corner. I feel everyone looking at me once again, I guess I don't have any choice now. I walk to the front, trying to avoid to look at any one. Well, there is one person that caught my eye. It was a young girl, that seemed to be hiding behind a woman. I suppose she is her mother because they look alike, from the few seconds I saw her, I can only tell. She is absolutely adorable. Focus, Nick,Focus. You have to concentrate. I don't look at the King still feeling a bit mad that he force me to do this. I don't even know why either. Maybe he wants to test me ? Whatever the reason, I'll just do it quick.

\- '' H-hello, my name's Nick Landon, I... I'm from the Overland...I guess? More precisely from New York City, I don't know if any of you could know that city. I am 14 years old. I do not know why I am here, now, but I'll just cope. I-I think that if...destiny wanted for me be to be here...like his majesty just said, there is probably a purpose for it. B-but, for the time being... I'm glad to meet all of you ! ''

Yeah, that last part isn't entirely true, I am not really excited to meet that Stellovet character, but I have to try and make a good first impression. If I want to survive here, I have to know who to trust and who is who. Well for the trust part, I think I canl already erase that woman from my list, because she is clearly gonna be a pain.

I look at the other persons in the room, it's silent for a bit, well that's awkward. I think I destroyed the atmosphere in there. Then, the men that has spend the whole time besides the queen comes to me and offers me and handshake. I feel a bit intimidated, but I still take it.

\- '' My name is Howard, I am the queen's eldest cousin, I am one of the healer of the castle, so if you have any problems you can come to me, you already met Luxa and Gregor, the others are my family. ''

Then, everything goes way faster. I meet and talk with almost everyone in the room. I don't remember every name, but I memorised that the parents name are Susannah and York, seems like honest people, I can respect that. I don't remember the twins names, but I don't think it would be that important, it might be nice to though. Then there is this girl. She was still behind her mother. I approach her, but she shy away. Ok, I have to think, how would I approach myself? That's basically that, but in much much worse. I smile at her. She seems to be around my age, like I said earlier, she is so cute ! I shake my head after that thought, I have to let my hormones calm themselves, I got to have my head clear to deal with this introduction.

\- '' H-Hey, what's your name ?''

She looks at me with her bright purples eyes... Awwww... she looks like a puppy! Bad Nick, Bad Nick ! She just says quietly, but loud enough to be heard.

\- ''...Chim...''

-'' Your name is Chim, huh? What a beautiful name ! ''

I think I see her blush, but I'm not so sure, because she was hiding obviously. She stayed silent for a bit, I hope I didn't scared her off. It would not be unusual, did I came out too strong ?

\- ''...Thanks''

I have to use all my concentration to stop myself to hug her and never let go. I take some deep breath and go back at the front. I catch the furious eyes of that crazy woman once again, I have the feeling she'll be a lot of trouble in the future, but the future is still far away right now. Now, my top priority is surviving this situation, I'll see for that later. I have to get out of here, inform myself on Regalia, and have a some time to think. I know ! A library! A castle must have one, right?

\- '' My King, I think it may be time for me to take my leave, is there any sort of library in there? ''

\- '' One more time, no need for that sort of politeness with me, you can just call me Gregor, and yes, we do have a library in the castle. Why? ''

\- '' Because it seems like you are already well occupied so I would like to go wait somewhere to occupy myself, and maybe inform myself a bit more while you continue this meeting. ''

The Queen that has been silent for a bit, smiled and talked.

\- '' It is an most excellent idea, I'll call a servant to lead you here. You just have to wait outside, oh and thank you. ''

\- '' Thank you for what ?''

\- '' You know why.''

Thinking, yeah, I may know why. Because I voluntarily decided to exit, she didn't had to kick me out or something, that would probably had caused some troubles, and mostly I think, it would had gave Stellovet that feeling that she had one that argument. What I just did, exiting the room by myself, avorted any conflict of any sort.

While I am on my way out, I just give a quick look at Chim for the last time, before opening the door and exit the room.

 **And that is it for this chapter. I'll be honest, this one was a though one to write, because it wasn't a lot of action, and mostly Nick thinking or observing. But it is exposition that needed to be done.**

 **Happy Christmas by the way, consider it as a late gift from me to you all! I love writing this story. I hope you all had wonderfull time with your families, and maybe had some awesome gifts.**

 **Once again, I'm always grateful for those reading this story and from getting reviews. It's always delightful to see my work being read. The next chapter will probably came in maybe two weeks, but I'll do my best to make it the faster I can ! ^^**

 **Until that, have a good time, and thank you ! Xenofan1**


	6. A Friend in Need

*** Disclaimer* I do NOT own The Underland Chronicles, it's the propriety of Suzanne Collins**

Gregor (3rd person)

Gregor takes a big breathe, thankfully, that crisis has been averted. Yeah, the boy certainly didn't came at the most ideal moment, he would admit it. He hoped that the newcomer would have woke a little later. But fortunaly, no damage has been damage. When he first arrived, he expected a murder to be commited. But not a single drop of blood has been spilled.

It has been civilised and calm, well, the most it could of been, considering the presence of Stellovet. He expected her to have cut the throat of someone by now, but she just tried to call the guards, and arrest the kid, and knowing her, possibly execute him. All things considered, she reacted pretty well. Now that this was over, we could go back at the job at hands.

Luxa is looking at him, he sighed. He knows he almost screwed all of this up. There are a lot of bad things that could had occured in this situation, but ironically, the Overlander kid saved them by just going away by himself. It's a way better resolution than any that they could have found.

Well, it's in the past now, there are other things to think and talk about now. He stands up, and look at the others, with a satisfied smile on his face, which obviously, enrage the already out of her mind cousin.

\- '' Now that this situation is over, is there any matter that any of you would like to discuss? ''

\- '' I think we saw enough. It is clear that you Overlander disrespect me and my family. I do not wish to continue this discution, I take clear offence and I will not forget it soon. Remember that, I will never, ever recognize you as my King. Even Gorger would make a more legitimate monarch compared to you. ''

She talked like with a lot of bitterness. That is more like what Gregor expected her to say. That had to occur sooner or later, he just hopes that her rage doesn't transform into destructing around her. That's always like this in the Underland, they always go from a problem to another. Gregor doesn't remember a time where there was no problem to deal with.

Susannah and York came in front to congratulate Gregor ad Luxa, then the farewells has been said. The cousins talked a bit then took their leave. For a few weird moments, after the sudden departure of the family, a silence installed himself in the room. It was a silence of multiple things, surprise, of concern, but most of all, of relief. Things went better than their most optimist outcome. They dodged any real confrontations, and the few incidents they have been has been resolved pretty quickly.

Now that it was all over they could-

 _WHAAM_

Luxa slapped the back of the head of Gregor.

\- '' You idiot ! Be happy that you are lucky that it ended well, because your idea, almost ruined everything. ''

He held his two hands in the air.

\- '' Hey, hey. It ended well okay ? I screwed up big time, I assume my responsiblity in that almost-fiasco. But you knew what you were getting into when you married me. My screw-ups, are partly your screw-ups. ''

\- '' Don't tie me to your own faults. But your right on one point, we should not worry with what didn't happen. I'm not really concerned about Stellovet, we both know that she desires the throne, but her credibility is really know. Not a lot a people would support her if she actually does try some day. ''

Gregor nodded. Howard, that stayed silent spoke.

\- '' I would stay recommend you two to stay cautious, she is not the type of person to give up, and she can prove herself sneaky. She'll use anything she can find to discredit you, so be very careful about what you both do. ''

Gregor thinks. King's life is hard. At least, for the moment, he doesn't have to worry about being guilotined. Regicide isn't something he would like to live for the moment. He's pretty okay with being alive.

\- '' Warning took, oh, I almost forgot ! By this time, our guest must be waiting for us in the library! ''

But, since fate really like to play with our heroes. A servant came rushing into the room, alarmed.

\- '' My King, My Queen ! ''

Luxa and Gregor shared an concerned look, then Luxa spoke.

\- '' Please calm down, say what you have to say. ''

\- '' A-a messenger came and send us a-a distress missage ''

\- '' A distress message, from who ? ''

\- '' The rats, they got...attacked.''

\- '' Attacked by who, or what ? ''

\- '' We do not know my Lord, the messenger died after giving us the message.''

Gregor grumbled. That is not a good sign. Not at all.

\- '' How covenient. And why isn't Ripred came to deliver it himself? ''

\- '' I'm not sure why, the now-deceased rat said that Ripred sended him...''

Luxa stood up quickly.

\- '' If Ripred someone else to deliver a message, it means that the situation must be pretty bad. We shall go assist them at once, we must assist our new allies. ''

\- '' Luxa, what do we do with the Overlander ? ''

\- '' Gregor, I know that you feel compassionate for him, but I think we have more pressing issues right now, he'll survive. ''

Gregor felt that she was right. He was too worried about the boy, he is the king. He has too much other things to worry about right now. When he'll be back. He'll explain everything.

They quickly went to the council to explain the situation, despite reluctance of the members, they managed to get the autorisation to send themselves with a few troops to assist the rats. Gregor sighed.

\- '' Wow, that took way too long. ''

\- '' I agree, but that's the Council, we're lucky that we even succeded to make them agree on something at all. ''

\- '' That's a small victory, I guess. ''

\- '' Now we have to hurry, the Council may want to take the most time as possible, but time is not what we have right now. ''

They rushed through the halls, quickly took some volunteers to go on the expeditions. Howard went along, in his words, if any medical attention is needed, he needed to go. There was no arguing here, of course it would be useful. If the rats were really in danger, they'd take every help possible.

The met up with the guards, it was not much, but they hope it will be enough. They all climbed on their respective Fliers. Gregor is nervous, how bad could the situation be for their new ally? The Gnawers already have difficulty to trust them, so they have to show them that they can be counted on when trouble occur.

The flight was silent, no one really had the mindset to actually ask anything. The situation was bad. Their job really was to contain it to stop it from getting from bad to worse. Everyone had the same question in mind. What is happening ?

Luxa was stiff, Gregor noticed it. He can almost read her mind about what she is thinking about. Ripred, he had the old rat on his mind too. How bad had the situation to be for him to send a messenger instead of himself ? That worried him, even though he fought them for years, he was worried about the lives of Gnawers, how ironic, but that's how life goes, things always goes on unexpected twist. In fact, there was a lot of things that he was nervous about. Would the guards fight for their old enemy, or will there be some hints of hatred of the last war ? There was a lot of ways on how this whole thing could go wrong.

He shook those thoughts off his mind and concentrated. The important was not what might happen, it was to make sure to do the right things for those to not happen.

From the height of the sky, when they arrived in the Gnawer's territory, everyone was horrified by how devastated the land looked. What happened ? They soon landed on the ground. Luxa look as devastated as the land himself. There was numberous bodies on the ground. There was signs of fighting, the Gnawers were or are still fighting something. Luxa ordered Howard to inspect the bodies, and he agreed. A lot of the of the dead were burned.

An hour later, after having inspected and performed the autopsy of a few bodies.

\- '' Luxa, it's horrible, after my autopsy, I discovered on a lot of bodies no trace of wounds made by weapons, so some of them actually has been burned alive. It must have been either in a fight, or by executions, both are actually possible, but I can't really make a decision on that until we have more of a clue of what happened here. ''

They figured as much, but it was even more horrible to hear it from the kind-hearted Howard. It looked like a war-zone, the worse probably already has happened. From what they could see, there was no living being in the horizon. It looked apocalyptic, burned ground, blood everywhere. Gregor see some guards throwing up, and one of them fainting, himself could not believe what he was seeing. He thought that, after the war, he had seen everything, but boy was he wrong.

After taking a while to recover from that horrific vision, they continued their journey, it didn't got better but they had to continue, the rats must had retreated deeper into their territory. Ripred, must have had done something like this. What kind of opponent were they fighting ? They didn't saw any bodies that weren't rats. They must be getting butchered.

Gregor has just noticed that Luxa has been silent for a long time, himself has been not that talkative either, but he wanted to see how she felt, it was not good to keep their emotions for themselves, for their mental health especially.

\- '' So, how are you holding up ? ''

\- '' What do you think ? I feel horrible. We should have been here faster, maybe we could have prevented this butchery. ''

Gregor kissed here quickly on the lips, then sighed.

\- '' I know how you feel, but I don't think there is nothing we could have done to stop it, now we have to help the survivors, and prevent another one from happening. ''

She silently aggreed with her husband and then quickly came back to her silence. Gregor, too, didn't know what to add. The situation was dark. Even, without the Overlander's influence, it seems that genocide and monstruosity was just part of life. That they liked it or not.

Some just backed out, some of the men just went back to Regalia. They couldn't deal with all of this anymore. Gregor kind off wanted it too, but he understood that it was necessary to keep walking forward. As a King, he had the face the horrors of war to truly understand it.

For what seemed to be a day, they walked until they finally found some life forms. There was a wall of wood. It was clumsy but seemed solid. For an instance they saw a Gnawer on top of it, when he saw them, he jumped down on the other side. They didn't understood what he said, but a hole was opening in the wall, someone came out of it. Thankfully it was a familiar face, Ripred.

The old rat was pitifull to look at, he looked tired and injured, but still had that presence that made him intimidating. He smiled and looked at them all, and laughing a bit.

\- '' Ah, it was time to finally show up, how typical, showing up after the end of the party, hum ? Anyway, even if you came a bit late, your help will be greatly appreciated. Follow me ''

He then came back into the hole, Gregor looked at Luxa, he took her hands, to have the courage to see what will show behind the walls and then they followed their old friend into the hole.

 **That is it ! The end of Chapter Six ! Sorry for the wait guys, it took a LOT longer than expected to write this one. For two reasons, the main one, procrastination, and number two, school. But I'm glad to be finally able to post it.**

 **Thanks to have read this chapter, if you liked or disliked this chapter, I invite you to post a review, it's always greatly appreciated. Until next time, goodbye !**


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